Get me Off
by Nicole Dernencourt
Summary: Sabriel is transported back in time to before the Royal House was killed, will she be able to stop Rogirrek and save the Old Kingdom or will history repeat itself? (S&T)
1. Strangeness in the air

Get me off

Prologue: Strangeness in the air

The room she was staying in felt utterly strange, the whole place felt strange, the Abhorsen's house, her father's house. She was still a little creeped out by the sendings, but that wasn't the only thing that made her skin crawl, she could feel something, something that was neither dead of free magic. Narrowing her dark eyes she searched her room for anything that might be out of place, finding nothing she lay down on her bed, not completely relaxing as the weird vibe she was getting pulsed softly before fading to an almost non-existent trickling at the back of her mind. 

Clenching her fists as she realised that she wouldn't be able to sleep unless she found out what this thing was she pulled her nightdress off of her and dressed in pale cream breeches, a blue flowing shirt that had on its cuffs the gold stars and silver keys of the Abhorsen, she tied her hair back with a piece of string and pulled on some sturdy boots. Picking up the bandolier and her sword she made sure they were secure on her before she moved cautiously out of her room. 

The feeling was coming back to her and she briefly wondered where Mogget was 'probably getting more food from the kitchen's' she thought, while trying to sense out where this 'feeling' was coming from. She found it altogether strange that there were no sendings flittering around in the hallways, and that the house seemed to be unnaturally quiet. Oh there weren't that many speaking individuals living in the house, but didn't all houses make noises, like the creaking of the walls and such?

Shuddering slightly Sabriel's hand went to the hilt of her sword, ready for it to be drawn at a moments notice. She found herself being drawn deeper into the labyrinth of the house and she lost count of how many doors she had passed or which was it was back to her room. Eyes narrowed in scrutiny she continued on, being guided by the strangeness that was in the air.  

Sabriel stopped in front of a rather ordinary looking door and she tilted her head to the side, checking it with her magical sense to see if there was anything dangerous behind the closed door. Finding nothing of the sort she cautiously opened it and peeked inside. The room looked to be an ordinary guest room, with rather pallid colours decorating the room. Feeling slightly disappointed that the suspense that had been building up had led to nothing Sabriel opened to door fully and stepped inside. 

The feeling came stronger to her and she moved confidently into the room, her dark eyes scanning with both her physical and magical sense for the direction of the strangeness. Seeing that it was coming from the large vanity that was in the room Sabriel moved toward it, her hand leaving the hilt of her sword and coming in contact with the mirror as she looked at herself in it. Biting her lower lip she scrutinised herself, her long ebony hair that was tied away from her face, how deathly white her skin was, her pale thin lips and sharp eyebrows. Sighing she leant against the vanity, feeling a weariness overcome her. 

She was startled to find that she vanity swallowed up her hand and was continuing up her arm, the liquid like substance felt colder then death and for the first time in her life Sabriel felt true fear, she didn't fear death, but this was an unknown, she tried to pull away from it but that only helped in agitating the strange liquid into moving quicker. With her left hand Sabriel pulled her sword from its sheath and hacked at the liquid, it jumped from the mirror to her sword and started to consume it up as well.

Sabriel opened her mouth to cry out to Mogget, the free magic servant may have been able to help her, but as she was about to call for him the mirror liquid entered her mouth and made her choke, she could feel herself striving to breathe through the liquid but found it impossible, her last fleeting thought was that suffocating had to be one of the worst ways to die. 

~``~

cold hard stone bit into her limbs and she started up quickly, her sword still clutched tightly in her hand, swinging this way and that she took in her surroundings, she was definitely not at the Abhorsen's house anymore. Cursing to herself she did a quick scan to see if there was any dead nearby, finding none she felt it safe enough to move from where she was. 

Dark eyes glittering in the strange light that surrounded her Sabriel moved quickly and stealthily along the walls of the richly furnished place she had somehow ended up at. The shadows were a comfort to her and she could feel that strangeness still lingering in the air about her. Scowling she admonished her foolishness at touching something that had sensed strange. 

Shaking her head she felt her hand stray to the bandolier as she heard voices coming her way. Quickly darting behind a great tapestry she turned her head to the side to hear better through the thick material.  

"So the Prince is back then?"

"Oh yes, and the Queen is quite furious that he came back without notice"

"why?"

"Well…" they seemed to stop right in front of the tapestry that Sabriel was hidden behind and she held her breath, hoping not to be found out, she was confused though, there was no queen or prince at all. Pushing her thoughts back she listened intently to what was being said, it sounded suspiciously like gossip and she had to stifle a rather girlish giggle at the thought of men gossiping. 

"You see…the Queen was going to spend the evening with her half-son"

"Who?"

There sounded a tapping noise and Sabriel could just imagine the man who seemed to know so much tapping the other man on the head for not knowing anything about these people.

"The boy, the one in the Royal Guard, anyway, it seems that the Queen favours him more then Prince Rogirrek"

"What has that got to do with anything?" the un-learned one asked, Sabriel was wondering the same thing, this seemed to be the stupidest piece of information anyone could bring up and it wasn't even related to anything.

"The point is, the King hates the fact that that boy is even at the palace, and with the Princes growing jealousy they may form a plan to get rid of him." The other one shushed him

"that is absolutely ridiculous, where did you hear of such a thing? The King and prince conspiring to get rid of a half-prince? Its absurd, I think you've been at the ale again Sarren" There was a snort and then the sound of fading footfalls.

Sabriel stayed where she was for a few moments before hesitantly coming out of her hiding spot. Shaking her head she moved swiftly, still in the shadows. She was seriously wondering if this was some soft of strange dream, because this couldn't be real could it? Stopping in the shadows again she could hear more voices, these vices were more higher in pitch and Sabriel guessed them to be female. Eyes searching for a place to hide she found a door and pulled it hastily open before slamming it shut behind her. Leaning against it she breathed heavily. Closing her eyes, Sabriel thought back to everything that had happened, to see if somehow this was a dream or that maybe she had hit her head on something. 

The feel of cold steal against the back of her neck pulled Sabriel back to the present, her eyes snapped open and her body stiffened. 

"Who are you?" the voice was low and steady and held a very masculine timbre to it. Sabriel could feel a shiver run through her spine and she was quite startled to find that it wasn't from fear. The sword hadn't moved from her neck and Sabriel decided that she might try her luck and experiment with her sword skills. A slow smile crept across her face, she would also test out her theory that this wasn't real. 

With quick movements Sabriel spun to the side and unsheathed her sword pulling it in front of her to deflect the blow to her head. Both swords clanged against each other and locked, Sabriel's dark eyes took in the man that stood before her, her breath caught at how beautiful he looked, with messy chocolate brown hair that fell into his eyes shadowing them to his muscular build, he seemed to be the epitome of man and she quivered for a moment. 

These feelings were strange to her, she'd never been this attracted to anyone in her life and these feelings were unnerving her, and she didn't like it. 

"I wont ask again." Sabriel stared at him, his clothes were strange to her and so was his accent. 

"Who are you?" She asked back, her dark eyes staring into his. He seemed slightly off balance and she watched as he pulled his sword away and stepped back from her, still ready to defend himself but not ready to attack. Sabriel also stepped back, she tilted her head to the side, sensing him with her magic, she could sense strong Charter Magic from him, but nothing of evil intent. Relaxing slightly she bowed her head.

"I am Sabriel, Abhorsen-in-waiting" She would not say that she was the Abhorsen, that was her father, and he would come back, all she had to do was search for him. She watched as the man took an unconscious step backward and his eyes widen. 

"You are not, I have met the Abhorsen, he has no heir" Sabriel narrowed her eyes, her thoughts were running quickly through her mind, and the only possible answer she could get was that she wasn't where she thought she was.

"Where am I exactly?" She asked cautiously. The man eyed her suspiciously 

"I am Torrigan of the Royal Guard, you are at The Palace at Belisaere in the Old Kingdom. Though how you don't know this is rather suspicious Sabriel who claims to be the heir of the Abhorsen." Sabriel breathed in sharply and the world dimmed, She was in the past, she had been transported back in time. She groaned and fell to her knees, how as she to save her father now? 

~``~

Written by Nicole Dernencourt

Disclaimer: I don't own Sabriel of its characters

AN/ I actually need some help, I don't have Sabriel on hand and this idea has been floating around in my head, I cant remember what Touchstone actually looks like, was he in the royal guard? What about his family (royal) and their names? Who was the Abhorsen at the time? Thanks for reading, Review please? 


	2. Nobles Noses

Get Me Off

Chapter One: Nobles noses 

He was startled when she collapsed onto the ground, nothing like this had ever happened to him in all his short time in the Royal Guard, beautiful, black haired girls did not just appear out of no where in his rooms, they didn't ask him strange questions about where she was and they certainly did not carry a sword! He was uncertain as to what to do, he knew that the first thing he should have done was to check her Charter mark and make sure that she wasn't some tainted dead thing come to seduce his soul into death. Eyeing the shivering girl on the ground he moved closer to her, sword at the ready. 

"Don't make any sudden movements milady," he said, his voice soft as he came closer. The girl before him turned large soulful eyes on him and he swallowed thickly, 'Charter she's beautiful' He flicked a stray chocolate curl from his eyes and held out a scarred hand towards her forehead where her Charter mark shone softly. The Charter marks flared around him, drowning him as he spiralled in the Charter magic, finding no tait whatsoever. Sabriel in turn touched his gently, her fingers trembling, she found him to be as real as the sword still gripped in her hand and she sat back, trying desperately to get her bearings straight and to sort out her mind. 

There was a hesitant knock on the door before it was opened slightly. Green eyes peered into the dim room, searching for its occupant, when they found him the green eyes widened as they also caught sight of a young woman. 

"Torrigan, I'm surprised at you, and all this time you've been preaching to me about honour and here you are, a young maid in your room" The voice had a mocking tint in it and then the door was flung open revealing a dark haired youth, a few years younger then Sabriel, he wore the same clothes as the man Torrigan that was before her. She narrowed her eyes at the interruption and at the implications the youth had stated. She watched as Torrigan blushed lightly before turning his attention back to Sabriel

"Forgive me milady for my friend brash sayings." He stood and held out a hand to help her up. She sighed and pulled herself up without his help, she needed to keep her mind on her problem of finding a way home, not on the man before her. She inclined her head, the lessons from her etiquette teacher barging through her mind at that moment and she thanked the strict teacher for bombarding her with it. 

"Where is the Abhorsen?" she asked, if anyone knew how to get her home, it would be the Abhorsen of this time. She had come to accept in such a short time that she had somehow travelled back in time through a mirror, the only thing for her to do was to get back to her own time and save her father. The young black haired youth smiled charmingly and Sabriel held back an eye roll. 

"Why would such a lovely lady as yourself want with an old codger like him?" Sabriel glared at the boy

"Because that old codger as you so politely called him is my only chance of getting home" she almost snarled and was quite frightened about where this anger had come from. Putting it down to the frustration of not knowing about what was really going on and all the confusion her mind was in she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind.

Torrigan held up his hand in a soothing way and roughly pushed the youth out of the door, he gave the boy a warning look and the black haired youth looked away guiltily.

"Wait! The Queen wishes to see you" Torrigan nodded his head and closed the door behind the youth. Sabriel sheathed her sword and then crossed her arms over her chest. 

"Where is the Abhorsen?" she asked again. The handsome Royal Guardsman shook his head and motioned for her to come closer as he himself sheathed his sword.

"The Queen will know what to do, I'm at as much of a loss as to what to do as you are it seems." Sabriel raised an eyebrow at this admission, she was starting to feel very uncomfortable around this young man, his overall appearance was making her feel hot and cold at the same time and his voice reverberated in her mind sending a pleasant shiver down her spine, and his politeness, even when he was fighting her was setting her on edge. No one was supposed to be like this, he was like the ultimate prince charming in every girl's fantasy. It was creeping her out!

He opened the door for her and motioned for her to go out before him, Sabriel stood still for a moment, wondering if he was going to go all Dr. Jeckle Mr Hyde on her and stab her in the back. Making up her mind that that didn't seem probable she cautiously walked over to the door, staring at the man before her for a few moments she quickly moved out of the door and turned to face him, watching his every move. 

Torrigan's mouth tilted upwards in amusement at the girls movements, he applauded her for her good sense at not leaving her back turned to a potential enemy for too long, she seemed to have warriors instincts, something he found absolutely fascinating. He had never met a girl like her before, all of the noble women were likely to faint at the sight of a naked sword, she however wielded one like a trained soldier. Wherever she came from, it must be amazing.    

He still didn't trust that she was the heir of the Abhorsen, he knew for a fact that the Abhorsen at the moment had no children, and wasn't likely for a few more years, although it was strange that a man in his early thirties didn't have an heir already. Cocking his head to the side he watched the slender girl before him eye him warily. Smiling at her he took the lead; it would be stimulating to see where all of this led. 

The walls became more richly furnished and the lighting became brighter. There were more large and open windows letting in natural sunlight and a slight sea breeze swept through the halls. Sabriel sniffed it in, it had been a long time since she had been to the sea and she stuck out her tongue to taste the salty air. Torrigan watched all of this, his eyes taking in every gesture, everywhere her eyes went, she fascinated him, utterly. The halls became more walked, the people were all rich in dress, golden rings and jewels adorned their naked skin, they had lustrous gowns made of silk, the men wore the best cloth decorated and trimmed with gold's and silvers. 

Sabriel saw them looking at her sideways, their hands rased over their mouths to hide what they were saying, but Sabriel knew well enough that they were talking about her, she grinned toothily to scare them away and a few turned their attention the other way until she had passed. Sabriel took a look at her guide that was now walking level with her, one hand to the hilt of his sword, his gaze flicked from her to the ever-increasing crowd of people. She saw a few guards salute her escort and she wondered just how important the man next to her was, he seemed to be highly thought of among the guards that she had seen, none of them had ignored his presence. 

They came to a beautifully carved door, birds and flowers popped out at Sabriel and she watched as Charter marks swam over the wood, the familiarity of the Charter calmed Sabriel's swirling mind and she breathed in deeply. Torrigan opened the doors for her and yet again she moved quickly, trying to keep him in her sight at all times, she watched his mouth twitch and she fought down her own smile. She frowned, she had never thought smiles were contagious before, but now she would be on guard, especially when around those certain lips. 

"Ahh, Torrigan, I am glad that you could-oh, and who is this young lady hmm?" Sabriel turned her attention and her breath caught. Before her stood the more beautiful women she had ever seen. Sabriel figured that her mother must have looked like this, the thick brown hair cascading over slender shoulders, clear, peach skin, all women. Sabriel now felt suddenly unimportant in this women's presence, and she fidgeted slightly.  

"She is Sabriel my Queen" Sabriel was startled to find her guide kneeling on the floor, one fist over his heart. Sabriel looked at the women before her and quickly knelt as well, she cursed herself as the voice of the etiquette teacher started to scream at her that she was supposed to curtsey not kneel like some soldier. She looked up and noticed the surprised looks on both Torrigan and the Queens face. Blushing lightly she ducked her head again, feeling very much like a seven-year-old child who knew they had done something wrong and was about to be punished.

A soft chuckle distressed Sabriel and she bit her bottom lip, soft womanly hands grasped her chin and tilted her face upwards, Sabriel found herself staring into caring golden brown eyes. Sighing in relief at what? She didn't know the women before her pulled her slowly to her feet. 

"Who are you my dear?" she asked softly, the very epitome of femineity. Sabriel swallowed around the lump that had formed in her throat. 

"Sabriel, Abhorsen in waiting" she said softly and jerked slightly before curtseying awkwardly "your majesty" She was so glad that her etiquette teacher wasn't here to see this, she was sure that her teacher would have loped off her legs by now for her incompetence. Sabriel frowned, it had been a long time since she had felt this ill prepared for something, and so lacking in ability to remember her lessons.  

The Queen looked questioningly at the young man beside Sabriel but he only shrugged, the Queen sighed and pulled Sabriel after her with her hands, Sabriel's eyes watched the young curly haired man untrustingly and he smiled encouragingly back at her, her eyebrows creased as she frowned, 'what his he smiling at?'

"Now, I am sure that you know I have many questions, but I think that I will answer yours first" The Queen seated Sabriel down on a small white chair and she seated herself across from her. Torrigan was stationed by the far wall, his honey brown eyes watching everything around them like a hawk. 

"Where is the Abhorsen?" Sabriel almost hit her head, she had always been blunt and too the point, but that seriously sounded rude to be asking the Queen of the Old Kingdom like that. The women before her laughed lightly and Sabriel also saw out the corner of her eye the guard Torrigan smirk. The Queen shook her head and sighed

"Forgive me Sabriel, you are just so fresh from court life that I find it revitalizing. However I am afraid that I bring you bad news, the Abhorsen is currently away from Belisaere, he was called away by masses of congregating dead." Sabriel could feel the unfamiliar prickle at the bridge of her nose and her eyes watered. She closed her eyes tightly and she groaned helplessly

"But I need him to help me get home" she whispered and buried her head in her hands; she had to get home to save her father. The Queen moved closer to Sabriel and touched her shoulder gently

"And where is home?" she asked. Sabriel looked up, her dark eyes shimmering with unshed tears

"The future." 

~``~

He could feel that something wasn't right; something was here in the palace that could ruin all of his carefully laid out plans. Cursing himself for not being as observant as he usually was he scouted the area and frowned, that wasn't right, the Abhorsen shouldn't be back. Brow furrowing in thought he paced in his chambers, this deserved some discreet detective work on his part to find out exactly what was going on. Checking his body over for any signs of decaying he moved towards his door, nothing was going to hinder his plans, nothing!  

~``~

After telling the Queen and the silent Torrigan her story she was led, by Torrigan to where she was going to be staying until the Abhorsen came back. The Queen had already sent word to the Abhorsen to come back as soon as he had finished with the dead as there was an urgent matter to attend to. The room that Sabriel was to stay in was one of the guest rooms in the Abhorsen's wing on the third floor. Sabriel felt uncomfortable to have an entire wing to herself, the wing next to hers was for the Royal Guard and the other two were for the royal family. 

Taking the bandolier off of her shoulders she traced her hands over the familiar bells, then she took of her sword and stretched her muscles, she didn't feel tired, but she had a lot on her mind. Sitting down on the cushy bed she bounced on it to test its springy-ness and smiled, this bed seemed to be a little better then the one that the Abhorsen's house. 

Going over to the open window she looked out at the beautiful lands of the palace, just below her window were the practise courts where a few soldiers were sparing or practising their swordsmanship. Smiling down at the display she felt her fingers itch to go down and join them. Making up her mind quickly she re-tied her sword and pulled the bandolier over her shoulder, she wouldn't go anywhere in this new…old…old old kingdom? She didn't know what to call it. 

Going down many wrong turns and asking a lot of servants the directions she finally found her way to the practise courts. There were many people just standing around idly watching the practising soldiers and guards, a lot of them were female nobles and Sabriel rolled her eyes at them. Selecting one of the less used courts she walked confidently over to it and took off the bandolier and placed it by one of the posts. Walking a few steps away she unsheathed her sword and closed her eyes, breathing deeply she felt along her sword and felt the charter magic flow and shift beneath her fingers. 

The strange silence around her startled Sabriel into opening her eyes. She glance at all the people watching her with either amused of disdainful looks. Keeping her face schooled into a blank mask she closed her eyes once again to centre herself 'let them look if they must.' 

Sabriel slid slowly into an offensive stance and counted her breaths before moving slowly and precisely in a Kata, the metal and Charter marks on her sword reflecting the suns light. There were whispers going on all around her but she blocked them out. Nothing mattered except for her sword and her breathing. A minor stirring in the back of her mind wiggled and nagged at her conscious mind and she sighed in annoyance. She knew that presence, a dead thing was near. 

Dark eyes me honey brown and she backed up a step in alarm. Narrowing her eyes she realised that she had lost the feeling of the dead thing and she felt irritable, what if it attacked her and she wasn't ready for it? Glancing around the guard Torrigan that was before her she tried to feel it out but felt nothing, it was out of her sensing range. Shoulders slumping slightly she looked at the man before her 

"What?" He grinned and she noticed that he had a dimple in his left cheek. He bowed before her, not mocking like she had thought he would.

"I challenge you to a duel" he stated, there was no malice in his tone, only a curiosity and Sabriel sighed in exasperation, he wanted to what? Looking away from him to think about it her eyes caught the crowd of noble's all watching the exchange with disgusted and affronted looks on their faces, obviously it wasn't right for a woman to fight. Frowning at them she turned her attention back to Torrigan.

"Sure" He smiled again and she felt her lips twitch, she turned away from him and walked a few steps away before turning back, her face under her control again. They both faced off and were about to charge at each other when that little black haired youth vaulted over the fence and stepped before Torrigan.

"You can't, she's a-a she!" Sabriel blew out a puff of breath that blew a few strands of long ebony hair that had fallen from its tie out of her face. Torrigan stared at the young boy before him.

"Avenall, she can fight with the sword, I would not challenge her if I did not think she would have a good chance at winning." Sabriel huffed

"Excuse me? I think I have more then a chance at winning." She glared at both boys, that strange anger coming back, she would not be underestimated. Torrigan smirked and Sabriel noticed that it made him look even more handsome and a dark chocolate curl fell in front of his eyes and she felt her fingers twitch to brush it aside. Tightening her hold on her sword she banished any such ideas from her mind and she concentrated on the man now unblocked before her. She would win, and she would show all those aristocratic nosed nobles that women could fight!

Dark, almost black eyes locked onto honey brown ones and held for a few seconds before they both charged at each other, their Charter marked swords clashing and locked as they tried to force the other down with strength. Sabriel, knowing that the guard before her held more f a chance of winning in a battle of strength disengaged and sidestepped thrusting her sword up and forward, it was blocked and the stroke was retaliated. They both spun away from each other, their swords flashes of gold in the sunlight and the clashing of swords was set into a beautiful rhythm. All who watched were enthralled in the dance that could end badly, even if it wasn't a duel to the death, they were both using real swords, that could inflict real wounds. 

Sabriel felt sweat trickle down her back and she squinted her eyes, the glaring sun was getting in her eyes too often for her. She was about to block the attack that was coming for her when she felt the presence of the dead so strongly she thought that it was right behind her. Turning her back to her opponent she searched with her magical senses, trying to find where it was. She scowled as she realised it was gone and she turned back to her opponent who was crouching on the ground, his eyes hooded by his curling chocolate coloured hair. 

Screwing up her face in confusion she sheathed her sword and waited for him to get back up. The silence hung thick in the air and she tapped her foot impatiently for him to get back up. Thinking that maybe he had injured himself she stepped closer.

"Are you alright? You didn't get hurt did you? I mean…I didn't hit you or anything, did you pull a muscle?" She didn't understand why he was so quiet, and why was he still crouched in that same position. She watched his back moving as he took in deep breaths. 

"Do you realise that I could have killed you?" it was whispered but Sabriel still caught it. Here eyes widened in surprise and understanding dawned on her face. She slapped herself mentally; she had turned her back on him in a fight to find the deads presence.

"But I'm not" she said slowly, watching him intently. He suddenly sprang forward, his face inches from hers.

"I could have, if I was just a second slower in my reaction then you would be dead! You idiot of a girl, what did you think you were doing? This was not a game, we weren't playing with wooden swords here!" She saw through the anger in his eyes to the fear, he had been afraid to kill her. She looked away, controlling her own anger at his words.

"I know that" she said softly, her eyes still cast down. "I felt something" she whispered to him, he and the Queen were the only ones that knew who she was and he immediately sheathed his sword and took a step back to give her room "something dead" she still whispered it. He narrowed his eyes and searched the crowd around them before his concerned honey brown eyes came back to face. 

"You need more concentration then that, if I had been an enemy you would be dead right now, so…I will train you" he decided, he smiled gently and held his fist out before her. She looked up at him incredulously

"What?"

"I said I will train you, you fight well, but you lack in concentration and stamina." She looked at him strangely, this man before her certainly was weird. Not knowing what to say to that she grasped his fist in her hand, her small hand barely even fit halfway around his large scarred ones. 

"Fine" she said resignedly as if she were some great burden for her. He smiled fully and she again noticed the dimple 'why do I keep seeing that?' rubbing a weary hand over her face she pulled her hand away from his warm ones and turned away from him. 

"I'm going to sleep, I've had enough for one day," she stated to him and she chuckled lightly before bowing to her back and leaving also. The crowd of nobles still gathered around each other whispering behind their hands at the newest gossip that had seen with their own eyes. 

~``~

Written by Nicole Dernencourt

Disclaimer: I don't own Sabriel

AN/ for all of you out there who haven't read Abhorsen Torrigan is Touchstones real name. Oh and anyone know the name of Sabriel's sword?

Dedicated to: TouchstoneoftheCharter: thanks for your help, and thankyou for reviewing, hehehe my first reviewer yay!!! I'm glad that you like my story, I hope that you liked this chapter yeah!!!

Nobody's sister: also thankyou for your help hehehe I think the curly hair stood out in everyone's minds! Well I hope no one minds but I think I will make everything else up! Hahaha, if I get things wrong then oh well, it's a Fanfiction I can do whatever I like! 


	3. Tea and Crumpets

Get me Off

Chapter Two: Tea and Crumpets

She groaned and tried to shuffle back under the soft, warm comforter. Sunlight trickled in through the large window that over looked the training yards and spilled annoyingly onto her closed eyelids. Turning on her side, away from the window she sighed as she began to relax back into sleep. She was on the verge of dream land when three sharp knocks on her door startled her into springing up off of the bed, however, during the night her sheets had tangled around her legs and instead of standing, battle ready beside her bed, Sabriel was now sprawled on the ground and her head was hurting.

"Ow!" rubbing the soft spot on her forehead she untangled her feet and walked angrily towards the door. The sun had only just come up indicating that it was only around six o'clock in the morning, much too early to be up. Wrenching the door open she scowled as she looked at the broad red clothed chest that was level with her eyes. Glancing upwards she caught a glimpse of a snicker and her mood turned fouler.

"What?" He looked her over and raised an eyebrow at how she was dressed; Sabriel blushed faintly and folded her arms under her breasts self-consciously.

"Did you forget?" he shrugged "no matter, we start training now, if you would kindly get dressed I will wait for you and escort you to our private training grounds." Sabriel rolled her eyes.

"Now?" He nodded. Sabriel watched him for a few moments, her eyes narrowing, trying to stare down the taller man. Getting even more frustrated she pinched the bridge of her nose and slammed the door in Torrigan's face. 

Grumbling about being woken up too soon and rude guards Sabriel relieved herself and dressed quickly. Washing her face in a small basin she pulled the bandolier over her shoulder the mahogany handles and silver of the bells shining as the charter magic swirled on the seven tools of the Abhorsen. Tying the sword belt around her slim waist Sabriel pulled her hair back into a messy tail and forcefully pulled on some boots. The clothes that she wore were not her own and were slightly baggy as they were the Abhorsen's 'casual' clothes. 

Eyeing herself critically she fingered the blue trimming with the traditional gold stars and silver keys stitched onto the hem. Tucking the trimming inside her breeches Sabriel announced herself ready by opening the door powerfully and allowing it to hit the stonewalls. Stepping out before the guard that was dressed in red and gold, the colours of the royal house, with dark blue trimming of the guard and folded her arms again, waiting for him to lead the way. 

Torrigan smiled at the girl before him, he couldn't wait until the rest of the Royal Guard saw her and he was excited to see her reaction to them all. They were a strange group of men and although he wasn't someone who liked to mess around, the meeting was something that he wouldn't miss for the world.  

"Aren't we going to be late?" Sabriel asked, she was feeling uncomfortable with this handsome man staring at her with those stormy grey eyes of his.

Torrigan led her through the silent halls of the palace, a few birds were twittering around and Sabriel narrowed her eyes at them as she saw them flying past the open windows. Nobody should be awake this early in the morning, it was unnatural! They finally reached the 'private' training courts and Sabriel's eyes wandered around at the eleven men, all differing in age just milling about, some were stretching, others were eating and one looked to be asleep on the floor. Torrigan led her over to the biggest group of them and smiled.

"Milady Sabriel, this is the Royal Guards fearless leader, Commander Cathmor the Great." The man looked to be in his late thirties, he had a grey streak of hair through long light brown hair. He had a leathery face that had seen the sun too often and his skin wrinkled around his mouth showing that he was a stern man.  The Commander took my hand and shook it tightly, I refused to flinch as his hand almost crushed mine and he grunted before turning away. Torrigan grinned and bent down to whisper conspiratorially to Sabriel,

"I think he likes you" The whisper was more like talking with a hoarse voice and defeated the whole purpose of trying to keep it quiet. Sabriel gave him a strange look but he continued on.

"This wonderfully silent man that you see before you is our second in Command Everard the True." Sabriel raised an eyebrow as the man bowed stiffly, dark eyes scrutinizing her before he too followed the Commander. 

"Now to the fun people." Sabriel held back a sarcastic retort as the next man that stood before her was more closer to her age. "This is our combat trainer, he'll be helping with your training of concentrating on two things at once." Sabriel huffed, offended.

"I think that you have that mistaken Torrigan the forgetful, it is women who are multitasked, not men." 

"Actually I'm called Torrigan from the Tower, but it was a nice guess. Anyway back to my introductions this is Donahue the Brown." Sabriel tried not to laugh, the man before her looked anything BUT brown. He had pale skin, pale hair, pale eyes, shaking her head Sabriel tried to figure out what his title meant. Torrigan seeing this smiled.

"I am called the Brown because my people are of the Brown blood, even though I carry no resemblance of my people I still carry their name to honour them." Sabriel's mouth twitched and she jumped when a black head appeared at her side.

"They're all dead," he whispered. Sabriel scooted away from the rather annoying young boy who she remembered was called Avenall. "And he's an water blood. Means that he's not full blooded, his father was an Ancelstierreian." Sabriel oohed and shook the hand of the man before her. 

"This one you've already met, Avenall the Dweller, he knows the lands like the nose on his face" Sabriel shook his hand as well, though a little reluctantly. 

"Hi, I'm Lionel the Young, so, you're the girl that Torrigan's going to teach? He never said you were beautiful, where are you from? Will you be my partner when we wrestle? I could show you how to fall. I'm the best faller out of them all, also the best at talking to the soldiers and stuff. So…err what was your name again?" Sabriel took a step back from the rather excited young man; he looked to be a little older then her with bright red hair and green eyes. He was short and jumpy but looked to be a capable fighter. 

"Sabriel" she said smiling softly and shaking his hand, he pumped it vigorously before running off to do a few laps of the practise courts. 

The next man was a very tall man with golden brown skin and Sabriel thought that his name should have been brown instead of the fair skinned Donahue. He had long raven black hair like her own but his was tied back in a plait that ran to his lower back and his eyes were also a golden brown, only just a lighter shade of his skin.

"This is Sahen the Falcon, He can see anything, I don't know how he can do it but he came, he can also see in the dark." The man was quiet like the second in Command Everard and she went to shake his hand when he thrust his fist near her face. Sabriel's eyebrows shot right up and she looked to Torrigan to see what to do. He held out his fist like Sahen's and then with his other hand covered it. Figuring that's what she was supposed to do she did so. Sahen grinned at her showing very white teeth and he pulled her quickly into a hug before walking off. 

"He's of the desert tribes in Estwael, his people banished him when he was a child because his family betrayed his tribe. He gets a bit happy when someone acknowledges him as one of the desert tribesmen." Thinking that this was getting a little too weird with all the new 'people' she had never heard of before and all their little stories she waited for the next man to present himself. 

"Mwhahaha" Turing around Sabriel watched as Avenall and Lionel tagged one another like children. Lionel stopped and placed his hands on his hips

"Its Mu hu ha ha not mwhahaha!" he stated matter of fact. Sabriel felt that this must be some sort of twilight zone or a dream or something; people didn't act like this normally did they? 

Torrigan tapped her shoulder and she spun back to see a grey haired, largely built man. His hair made him look like he was fifty but his face and body showed a man in his late twenties. 

"This is Garth of the Garden, our medic." The man smiled softly at her and Sabriel smiled back and shook his hand.

"Sabriel I gather? Where you come from do they have different Herbs then here at the Palace?" He eyed her for a few moments before moving away and allowing the next man to meet the new 'girl.' 

"Alright hurry up with this thing so we can get started" Cathmor snarled and Sabriel's jaw tightened at being ordered around.

"These are Orion of the Fire, Baird the Minstrel, Hayley the Ingenious and Rome the Pilgrim." The first was a young boy, only twelve and his hair was pulled in stiff dreadlocks that were a blueberry shade, his eyes were dark blue and his skin looked to be died a pale blue when the light hit it. She furrowed her eyebrows again at the name. Turning to the Minstrel she found that he was staring openly at her in amazement. 

"Abhorsen?" Jerking in surprise she looked at Torrigan and he shook his head

"Don't be silly Baird, she's nothing of the sort" Sabriel sighed in relief; it hadn't been a lie, just a withholding of information. Baird was in his late fifties but looked fit enough to go head to head with an army of men and take them down. His muscles bulged and white hair flopped down into ice blue eyes. Hayley had sharp features and looked like a bird, he even moved like one, his movements were erratic and deft. He had stringy brown hair and muddy eyes and his clothing looked a bit bedraggled. 

The last 'boy' was staring at himself in the reflection of his sword which he held out in front of him. He smiled at his own reflection and flicked an out of place blonde hair. Looking quickly at her he fixed his gaze on any shiny surfaces and checked himself out again. 'Pft, they should call him Rome the Vain.' Shaking all of their hands they moved quickly to line up in front of the Commander, Sabriel took the time to take her Bandolier off and place it in the corner safely. 

"Right, now I'm sure you've all met Sabriel no Title" Sabriel looked at the Commander strangely and she was seriously wondering about his mentality. "So, we will begin, Donahue, take the front." 

Donahue the Brown moved quickly and stiffly to the front, a scowl on his face. 

"Right break up into pairs, Orion with the girl!" Sabriel glared at Donahue for degrading her by not saying her name and moved to the small blue haired boy. He bowed formally to her and took a fighting stance. "You'll only be warming up, I'm sure that the girl knows hand to hand combat." Everyone sounded off that they understood and Sabriel swallowed, they wanted her to what? 

"Uh, hand to hand?" She called out Donahue looked her over.

'That's what I said" her dark eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean hand to hand?"

"As in fighting with no weapons, with your hands, and feet…punching, kicking…" At Sabriel's blank look he turned angrily to the curly haired guard that had brought her in

"TORRIGAN!" the young man looked sheepish.

"She can fight with a sword…I just assumed." Donahue slapped a hand to his forehead and pointed at Sabriel

"Just watch for today, after breakfast I'll have the idiot teach you some basic moves. Everyone else, get to it!" 

Sabriel watched them in fascination, after their 'warm up' which looked a little too difficult they started the 'real work' and her eyes opened wide as they threw punches and kicks at an alarming rate, some of them she couldn't even see. After half an hour Torrigan took his shirt off, as it was soaked through with sweat, Sabriel's eyes unconsciously roved over his lean muscles that were taunt under tanned skin. A few pale scars traced themselves over his skin and Sabriel had to tear her eyes away from his half nakedness. 

'What the hell is wrong with me? Why do I keep looking at him? I've seen men before, none that looked that good, but still…'

'Who said you couldn't look? You might be here for awhile…looking's not going to hurt anyone…'

'But its wrong…isn't it?'

'No,'

'Shut up! Wait, now I'm talking to myself? When did I start doing that? Oh my Charter am I going crazy?' Sabriel smiled to herself and looked back over to Torrigan just as he turned to look at her, their eyes met for a brief second before he went back to fighting Donahue. 'Oh crap, I'm turning into Torrigan, smiling at myself, talking to myself…does he talk to himself? No…don't answer that.' An hour later the men had finished what they called a brief work out and wiped themselves down, most of them pulled off their shirts and took their shoes off before walking away. Sabriel waited for Torrigan and he smiled down at her, that dimple showing again 'curse that dimple' 

"You hungry?" he asked. Sabriel was about to reply when her stomach growled, "I'll take that as a yes, we eat with the other guards of the palace, hope you don't mind." He didn't wait for a reply and Sabriel realised that she hadn't really talked much at all since she arrived in the old old kingdom yesterday. 

The room was filled with blue uniformed men; they all stared as the still half naked Torrigan and Sabriel walked in. Women didn't eat with them at all, especially not a dark haired beauty that stood before them. Getting a little uncomfortable with their stares Sabriel sat at the table Torrigan led her over to between Torrigan himself and Sahen. The tribesman felt that he counted Sabriel among his friends now and she made a mental note to read up about the Desert Tribes to make sure that she didn't offend the man in anyway unknowingly. Lionel placed a plate in front of her and then moved to the end of the Royal Guards table. She watched the others of the Royal Guard scoff down their breakfast as if it were their last meal. Eyeing the food suspiciously she stabbed her fork at it and recoiled as a burst of steam shot up and at her face. 

Cutting off a bit of egg she lifted it to her face and sniffed it experimentally to make sure that there were no drugs in it. She couldn't be too sure, these people of the Royal Guard were crazy, absolute lunatics and she was sure that some kind of drug had to be helping them. The only not so crazy one seemed to be Torrigan and even then she questioned his sanity some times, he was always smiling. 

"Like your food?" Torrigan asked. Sabriel smiled wanly and took a bite of it, it surprisingly tasted very nice

"Hmm" she said as she dug in to the meal, she hadn't eaten anything the night before and was starving; only know realising how much she was. 

"After you've finished we'll go back to the courts and I'll teach you the basics, how does that sound?" Sabriel nodded her head not even looking at the man next to her. She had almost finished her meal when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning to see who it was a little annoyed she looked up at a palace guard and groaned, couldn't people leave her in peace? 

"Why hello pretty lady"

"Eh?" Squeezing in between herself and Torrigan he was practically on top of her. "Could you get off?" 'Were people around her missing a few brain cells?' rolling her eyes she tried to push him off of her but he only pressed himself closer. Grunting with the effort she looked at Torrigan who was getting quite red in the face. 'Is he alright?' 

"Torr…are you…" it didn't even register in her mind that she had given the now red faced guard a pet name, the bare-chested man had now stood up, towering over the man and she thought back to the title he had and absently thought that it did suit him. Torrigan reached down to the palace guard that was breathing uncomfortable down Sabriel's neck and ripped him off of her savagely, holding the man a few inches off of the ground so that his face was at eye level. The entire eating hall quietened down and all watched Torrigan throw the blue clad guard across the room. Pointing a trembling finger at the man that was struggling to get up he hissed between his teeth

"Speak, Touch or even Think of a lady like that again and I will grind you into the ground like the dirt you are!" Sabriel was rather taken aback by all this, she watched as Torrigan sat back down and continued to eat in silence and slowly the other's went back to what they were doing, every now and then people took quick glances at the still flushed man of the Royal Guard. Sabriel felt a fluttering in her heart when Torrigan stole a fleeting look at her out of the corner of his eye before going back to his breakfast. She could feel a warmth enter her face as it finally hit her that this man who had only known her for little more then a day was standing up for her and defending her, and though she wasn't some damsel in distress, she actually liked what he had done…got a shiver running down her spine as she thought about it. 

Shaking her head to get rid of these feelings she finished off the rest of her eggs and stood up when Torrigan did, she was full now and ready to learn how to 'concentrate on two things at once.' 

~``~

Written By: Nicole Dernencourt

Well…that was fun if I do say so myself…some ideas came from my sister Carlita. 

Dedicated again to: TouchstoneoftheCharter: hehehe big long review this time! Thanks for the inscription on the sword; I'll use that later on! Groovy stuff, hope that you liked this chapter.

Disclaimer: 

Nicole: I don't own Sabriel…though….Torrigan's…hehehe

Carlita: Shh…there are children present, stop with the hentai

Nicole: Hentai is a Japanese word which means being a pervert

Yehoshua: Actually doesn't it mean something like porn?

Carlita: Yehosh!!!! That's sick!

Nicole: hmm yes well, we do need to desensitise the minds of the children so the bad things of this world don't frighten them

Yehoshua: the news does that!

Carlita: your right…lets kill the news people

Nicole: maybe later…how about next chapter?

Yehoshua & Carlita: YEAH!!!!


End file.
